After false starts, children's museum gets new director

GRAHAM — If running a children’s museum was just about having fun with kids, or just about crunching numbers or only hobnobbing with business leaders, finding the right director would be a cinch.

But it takes all those skills and more to steer a museum. It also helps to have already founded an educational museum.

Kathy Hackshaw came to the Children’s Museum of Alamance County’s board with all of those.

Hackshaw, most recently the general manager of Tanger Outlets in Mebane, has a background in teaching, more than 15 years in the shopping industry and was on the founding board of and a director of ThunderRoad USA in Dawsonville, Ga. — now the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame Museum.

“It was a lot of interactive, fun stuff. There were old cars and the history of NASCAR, of course. But we made it an educational museum, geared toward children, so they could go in and learn about engines and cars,” Hackshaw said.

Her background combined with her enthusiasm and an effervescent personality won over members of the Children’s Museum of Alamance County’s board.

“When you take all of that experience — and knowing that we are a non-profit and the big challenge is that we’ve got a children’s museum that’s got to appeal to parents who want to bring their children there — Kathy understands that. Not everyone we saw did,” said museum board member Aaron Lockamy. “We’re just very fortunate to have her.”

Lockamy served as the museum’s interim director since its October opening. Hackshaw was hired in February and began at the museum Feb. 25.

“Someone asked me, ‘But isn’t it noisy?’ Yes, and I love it. There’s nothing better than the laughter of kids having fun and learning, just that pure joy they have,” Hackshaw said Thursday.

Nearly 15,000 people have visited the downtown Graham museum since it opened at 217 S. Main St. The exhibits cover art, science, literacy and local history and are geared toward children up to 10 years old.

The museum is a crowded place on weekends and in the mornings. Numerous schools have made it a field trip destination because the exhibits are aligned with North Carolina’s elementary curriculum.

She’s still getting settled into the position but says there’s no typical day at the office. She takes care of the books, meets with visitors, drafts grant proposals and reaches out to businesses.

The biggest task before her is to secure about a half million dollars to complete several exhibits. The most expensive of those is the My Own Backyard area, a playground planned for pre-fabricated rocks and logs rather than the typical jungle gym.

And after residents and businesses generously gave for years to get the museum opened — the $3.5 million to build it came from donations — Hackshaw is turning to national businesses and hopes to secure grants to cover those costs.

“We’re operating in the black, but there are still a lot of enhancements to be done. There’s a little more we’d like to do to all of the exhibits,” she said. “We’re meeting our operating budget and even making a small profit.”

Several years into managing the Tanger Outlets in Mebane, Hackshaw wasn’t looking for a new job. A friend casually asked what she thought of working at a children’s museum.

“I thought, ‘I would love to do that,’” Hackshaw said. “I really enjoyed working with Tanger. They’re a great company and fun people. This was just a change of life decision.”

Her name was referred to board members, who interviewed her several times, Lockamy said.

After a couple false starts — Steve Saucier left after a few months in 2010; Mary Erwin exited last summer saying she wasn’t a good fit for the museum — its members wanted exactly the right person. They think they’ve found her in Hackshaw.

“She’s just wonderful,” board member Jennifer Talley said.

Now the real work of establishing the museum as a regional destination for young families begins.

Program Director Austin Lange’s whiteboard is jammed full of special programs and events in the coming months. She and Hackshaw are working to attract traveling exhibits — Legos are coming in August — artists and speakers. Eventually, some of the exhibits inside will change, so that children will have new things to learn and play with when they return.

The museum hosts birthday parties and community events. Hackshaw hopes adults and groups will soon recognize the museum as a fun place to host conventions and evening gatherings.

Hackshaw grew up in Greensboro, graduating from Page High School and then Wake Forest University. She and her husband, Robert Gonzalez, have children and grandchildren in Georgia, California and Arizona. When she’s not at the museum, she enjoys swimming, golfing and reading.

The children’s museum is open six days a week, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.